Congressman Barney Frank

The colorful, combative and quick-witted congressman announced this week he won't be seeking reelection in 2012. Lesley Stahl profiled Frank back in 2008.

2011Dec 08

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Barney Frank

"Barney Frank has been called the smartest guy in Congress," Lesley Stahl said in her 2008 profile of the Massachusetts congressman.

These smarts have come in helpful during Rep. Frank's tenure as the non-nonsense chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, tackling some of the toughest financial issues facing the country.

Rep. Frank surprised quite a few Washington watchers with his announcement that he was retiring after 30 years in the House of Representatives. On 60 Minutes Overtime, we look back at Lesley's interview with the 16-term, sharp-tongued congressman, produced by Shachar Bar-on.

Frank's political career stretches back to 1967, when he served as executive assistant to Mayor Kevin White of Boston. In 1972, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he served for eight years before beginning his congressional career in 1980. You can read his written statement about his decision to retire, at the congressman's official website, here.

To many, Barney Frank may have seemed extreme: he is openly gay and a fierce defender of liberal causes and ideology. But he was also an effective politician, irrespective at times of party. Love him or hate him, when Representative Frank leaves Washington, the House of Representatives will have lost a unique voice.